It's Time? Did Someone Say It's Time?

The welcome baskets have come out and are just about ready to roll. You know what THAT means??? It's soon time for us to pack up the Honda Civic and head north for Global Outreach Mission's next Candidate Orientation in St. Catherine's Canada, February 19-24.

Putting the final touches on the welcome baskets for orientation.

It's always exciting to anticipate this semi-annual event with our coworkers in Buffalo and St. Catherines and our next "class" of missionaries ready to work thru an intensive week learning-the-ropes of being a GOM missionary.  We expect to arrive in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, the evening of the 17th and kick-off the orientation the afternoon of the 19th. Our nine orientees represent ministries in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Ohio with two being new administrators with our home office in NY. We are blessed to once again be hosted and well-cared for by Perry and Bonnie D'Elia at Pearables Ministries.

It will be a full week! Keith has three presentations on the topic of Partnership Development as well as two other sessions on "Executing The Event" and "Basic Partnership Tools." I will prepare and serve for each of our breaks and lead a "Concert of Missions Prayer" one evening, as well as take care of other odd jobs that always seem to pop up. Keith and I will team up to teach our missionaries how to use TntConnect, a powerful computer data base geared specifically for missionary use. We're working with Greg Constable, VP of Personnel and Randy & Jan Kent, career missionaries to France, for the main parts of the orientation. Several of the Global team from our Buffalo office will join us at various times as well.

Keith practices for the Newsletter Photography Round-table Discussion

On our way to Canada we will stop in PA to represent Global at a collegiate missions emphasis week. That will help break up the 13 hour drive time. We leave for PA this Sunday.

Prayer Requests
As we prepare, plan, and go, please pray for our orientation team as well as for the missionaries attending who represent ministries in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ohio, Sierra Leone. We'll also orient two new administrative personnel. Please pray:

• for good weather and safety for everyone traveling to and from the orientation
• for good health as fourteen of us live, learn, and work in close proximity
• that our times of devotion and teaching would impart all God desires for each person
• that, as leaders and teachers, we would be patient in problem solving, loving in our listening, and be faith-filled distributors of God's grace. 

We look forward to getting on the road again for such a time as this and we REALLY hope we don't need to trade the Honda for a sleigh!

Thank you for your prayers and support that allow us to play a part in preparing a new generation of missionaries to continue sharing the Gospel and harvesting the fields to the Glory of God!